With fewer than five years remaining to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the world is significantly behind in securing universal water access, as outlined in SDG 6. Closing the annual global financing gap of over USD 140 billion for climate-resilient water systems is critical, given water’s essential role in economic development, public health, food security, energy sustainability, and climate resilience. Urgent and scaled investments, combined with innovative solutions, are needed to safeguard water resources for current and future generations.
In 2025, the Global Water Partnership Organisation (GWPO) and its network launched the Global Transformation Agenda on Water Investments, with the GWP Strategy 2026–2030 serving as its blueprint. This strategy introduces a digitally integrated, citizen-centric, and climate-resilient approach to water governance, providing a five-year roadmap to advance global water security. The strategy aligns with GWP’s mandate as an intergovernmental organization with observer status at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The strategy’s vision is a water-secure world, supported by a mission to strengthen financing, governance, and management of water resources for sustainable, climate-resilient, and equitable development. The 2026–2030 plan is structured around three Strategic Goals: enhancing financing for climate-resilient water security, strengthening national and transboundary water governance, and building institutional capacity, data systems, and digital innovation. Evidence-based targets include influencing USD 15 billion in climate-resilient water investments, mobilizing USD 500 million in innovative financing across at least 30 countries, improving water governance in 150 instances, and supporting 60 countries in upgrading water data infrastructure while training 500 water professionals with gender parity.
The strategy emphasizes the interdependence of these goals: strong governance enables sustainable financing, capacity building ensures effective implementation, and financial resources strengthen institutional resilience. Key interventions will include accelerating regional, national, and transboundary water investment programs, securing political commitment for water security, fostering inclusive partnerships, leveraging innovative blended finance mechanisms, and integrating climate resilience, gender equality, and social inclusion into all initiatives.
GWP builds on prior successes, such as the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme and the African Union’s Pyramid of Water Investment Transformation, which aims to mobilize USD 30 billion annually for water investments in Africa by 2030. These frameworks will be adapted for other regions, including Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe, using diversified funding from bilateral aid, multilateral finance, national budgets, resource taxes, and institutional investors.
Through the Strategy 2026–2030, GWP seeks to strengthen its role as a global mobilizer in the water sector and contribute to shaping the post-2030 sustainable development agenda. The organization calls on governments, multilateral banks, private sector actors, and civil society to join the Global Transformation Agenda on Water Investments. With coordinated leadership, innovative financing, and inclusive governance, GWP demonstrates that achieving a water-secure world is possible even within the narrowing SDG 2030 timeline.
